Labor In The News: DC Firefighters Warn That New Schedule Threatens Safety
Monday, January 9, 2012
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)“D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe is pushing to impose a work schedule that
would dramatically increase work hours and decrease recovery periods for
firefighters” wrote Ed Smith, President of Fire Fighters Local 36, in response
to a Washington Post article praising
Ellerbe’s new schedule proposal. “Such a regimen will inevitably lead to
sleep-deprived firefighters who are less able to perform their jobs,” wrote
Smith in the Dec 30 Post. While Ellerbe claims the new schedule would save the
city money, Local 36 found that the schedule “would actually cost the city
between $16 million and $45 million the first year, depending on how it is
implemented” Click
here to read the full article. In addition to this struggle, DC firefighters
are also in debates with Ellerbe about his decision to change their logo and
thereby force firefighters to spend hundreds of dollars to purchase new
uniforms. Smith asked that the cost of new uniforms be paid for by the
department, or that the uniforms be replaced on an as-needed basis for new
clothing items, but Ellerbe refused and continues to demand that firefighters
pay up. - photo courtesy of Local
36